Document Type
Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.15353/cjds.v14i4.1299
Journal Title
Canadian Journal of Disability Studies
Publication Date
2025
Abstract
Claudia Emerson’s Infusion Suite section within her poetry collection Impossible Bottle is a significant contemporary literary representation of cancer. In this twelve-poem sequence, Emerson dispenses with the typical martial metaphors so often used to represent this lived experience. Instead, she focuses on more mundane everyday moments in a way that acknowledges and respects the humanity of all those at the treatment center—especially that of the patients. Emerson refuses to airbrush out the daunting, debilitating aspects of cancer, but she also preserves space for light and life.
Publisher Statement
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Open access also means that the journal is dedicated to accessibility.
All articles in the journal are assigned a Creative Commons Attribution -NonCommercial - NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
Recommended Citation
Foss, C. (2025). ‘‘I am not this, not here, this time’’: Claudia Emerson’s Infusion Suite as a Compelling Account of the Lived Experience of Cancer. Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, 14(4), 177–198. https://doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v14i4.1299
Included in
American Literature Commons, Literature in English, North America Commons, Poetry Commons
Comments
The definitive article is available on the journal's website at: https://cjds.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/cjds/article/view/1299.